Man Allegedly Brands Children With Hot Medallion

Man Allegedly Brands Children With Hot Medallion

February 15, 2013Updated Feb 15, 2013 at 3:00 PM CDT

An Indiana man has been charged with three counts of neglect of a dependent after allegedly using a hot medallion to "brand" three children, according to a report from Granite Broadcasting sister station Indiana's NewsCenter in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Jason Michael Mangas, 28, was caring for his four children and a family friend the weekend of Jan 19 when the branding occurred.

According to one of the victims, an 8-year-old girl, it started when she told Mangas that she wanted a tattoo. Mangas then heated up a necklace on a space heater until it was hot and placed it on her arm, burning an impression of the medallion. He then burned one of her siblings and his friend in the same fashion.

Joe Younts, a Randolph County Sheriff's Deputy, reports that the burn was about 3" x 5" in size.

Mangas is being held in the Randolph County jail under a $10,000 bond with a trial date of June 3.

According to reports, a plea agreement from 2010 residential entry and theft charges against Mangas, resulted in him being ordered to spend six months on home detention followed by 30 months probation. It appears that his mental competence was in question during the course of that case.